The Paris terror attacks are seen by many as testament to the need for hard power when dealing with the Islamic State – this while the new Canadian Prime Minister has been preaching, and was elected on, a soft power Liberal line.

Trudeau got a kick-start on the foreign policy front last week, visiting the newly renamed Global Affairs Canada [...] "It radiates out, and you see the sense of openness and … the public diplomacy – the sense of building connections," Cooper said.

Trudeau said he and his cabinet will rely on the diplomats' assessments and first-hand knowledge to advance Canada's foreign policy agenda.[...] "And so sending this letter to our ambassadors and high commissioners -- and essentially giving them freedom to do public diplomacy like the rest of the world -- is very positive sign."

The Liberals ran on a promise to reset Canada’s image on the world scene, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has selected the party’s former leader Stéphane Dion to do it. Dion is Canada’s new foreign minister, one of the highest-profile jobs in Trudeau’s new cabinet. The Montreal MP takes over the top diplomatic job as the Liberals attempt to bring a new tone not only in Ottawa, but to Canada’s international voice.

The UK's Ambassador to the UN is using Twitter to crowdsource ideas for how the the UK could contribute to improving the UN Security Council during its presidency. More information on the Canadian Foreign Ministry's $9.5 million digital diplomacy project in Iran that opens up the internet in countries ruled by repressive regimes by circumventing government firewalls.

Years of resource reductions and the centralized political control and manipulation of all scientific and public communications have deeply corroded Canadian democracy, governance and public administration. The capacity to practice science diplomacy- a critical tool in responding to the vexing range of challenges generated by the globalization age - has perhaps been foremost among the casualties.

On the world stage, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, the 43-year-old son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, has pledged to reassert Canada’s traditional position as a humanitarian soft power. He has wasted little time in signaling a shift in Canada’s foreign policy back to the left after a decisive victory Monday over his predecessor, Conservative leader Stephen Harper.